German

Alternative forms

• Alfabet (rare)
• Alphabeth (obsolete)

Noun

Alphabet n ‎(genitive Alphabets or Alphabetes, plural Alphabete)

1. alphabet (the set of letters used when writing in a language)

Declension

Derived terms

• alphabetisch
• alphabetisieren

Luxembourgish

Noun

Alphabet n ‎(plural Alphabeten)

1. alphabet

Related terms

• alphabetesch
• Alphabetisatioun

English

Noun

alphabet ‎(plural alphabets)

1. The set of letters used when writing in a language.

   The Greek alphabet has only twenty-four letters.‎

   In the first year of school, pupils are taught to recite the alphabet.‎

2. A writing system in which letters represent phonemes. (Contrast e.g. logography, a writing system in which each character represents a word, and syllabary, in which each character represents a syllable.)
   1. A writing system in which there are letters for the consonant and vowel phonemes. (Contrast e.g. abjad.)
3. (computer science) A typically finite set of distinguishable symbols.

   Let be a regular language over the alphabet .‎

4. (India, Hong Kong, Singapore) An individual letter of an alphabet; an alphabetic character.
   • 2002, Eugene E. Dike, African myth of creation in African form of writing, Monsenstein und Vannerdat, ISBN 3936600406, page 30:

     We realize the fact that the alphabet A has been used in many world scripts as a vowel with the others AEIOU.

   • 2005, Satinder Bal Gupta, Comprehensive Discrete Mathematics & Structures, Laxmi Publications, page 237:

     There are 26 alphabets in English.

5. The simplest rudiments; elements.
   • (Can we date this quote?), Macaulay, (Please provide the title of the work):

     The very alphabet of our law.

Derived terms

Synonyms

• ABC, absey

Translations

See also

Verb

alphabet ‎(third-person singular simple present alphabets, present participle alphabeting, simple past and past participle alphabeted)

1. To designate by the letters of the alphabet; to arrange alphabetically.

External links

• alphabet on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

French

Etymology

From Late Latin alphabētum, from Ancient Greek ἀλφάβητος ‎(alphábētos), from ἄλφα ‎(álpha) (Α,α) and βῆτα ‎(bêta) (Β,β) (the first two letters of the Greek alphabet), from Phoenician aleph 𐤀 ‎(“ox”) and beth 𐤁 ‎(“house”), from Egyptian [script needed] ‎(ox's head) so called because they were pictograms of those objects.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /al.fa.bɛ/
• Rhymes: -ɛ
• Homophone: alphabets

Noun

alphabet m ‎(plural alphabets)

1. alphabet (set of letters considered as a group)

Related terms

• alphabète
• alphabétique
• alphabétiquement
• inalphabète

Middle French

Etymology

From Late Latin alphabētum, from Ancient Greek ἀλφάβητος ‎(alphábētos), from ἄλφα ‎(álpha) (Α,α) and βῆτα ‎(bêta) (Β,β) (the first two letters of the Greek alphabet), from Phoenician aleph 𐤀 ‎(“ox”) and beth 𐤁 ‎(“house”), from Egyptian [script needed] ‎(ox's head) so called because they were pictograms of those objects.

Noun

alphabet m (plural alphabets)

1. alphabet (set of letters considered as a group)